Wheatley had found it rather amusing when Chell came up short with the Christmas lights, but being left to finish the job himself wasn't nearly as funny. He toyed with what remained of the string of lights, trying not to squirm under Chell's highly amused and ever watchful eyes.

He swallowed.

"The only problem is that now you can't hand the lights off to me when they need to go on the other side of the tree, because you're-" Wheatley swore he could actually feel her glare hit the back of his head. "All the way over there."

Chell smirked darkly.

'Nice save.'

Wheatley fidgeted, looking at everything that wasn't her.

"I guess that's alright though, since the top is smaller anyways, right?"

He gave a pleading look in her direction, but Chell stayed silent. He could think her stubborn if he liked, but if he wanted to laugh at her, he could figure this out for himself.

And he did, eventually.

It took a few tries, more than a few stifled laughs on Chell's part, and quite a lot of annoyed mumbling from Wheatley, but finally the last of the lights were arranged on the tree. By that point Wheatley was almost too anxious to be proud of his work.

"Does that look okay?" He asked, avoiding her eyes.

Chell smiled. She'd had her fun making him squirm (that's what he got for making fun of her), but the last thing she wanted was to damage his self esteem further than it already was.

"It's perfect." She nodded. "Thank you."

Her smile turned a tad more humble as she looked between Wheatley and the bright red tote that sat by her feet.

"...Would you mind adding one more thing?"

Wheatley brightened, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Sure. What have you got?"

The star was nothing fancy. Its edges were rough, the product of kiddie scissors on cardboard, and it left a thin trail of glitter every time it moved. Every year it was fastened to the tree by a piece of yarn duct taped to its back, which wasn't a problem, because only one side of the star was decorated, completely covered in the aforementioned glitter. The tree topper was makeshift, but it had been a collaborative effort on the part of the town's children. To Chell it was perfect.

"This goes on the very top of the tree." Chell said, handing it off reluctantly. "Be careful."

Whether she was asking him not hurt himself or the star Wheatley didn't know, though the delicate way she handed it to him gave him a rough idea.

Thankfully the star took a lot less time to arrange than the lights.

Wheatley couldn't help but feel a bit of pride swell within his chest as he stepped back to look at the finished product, because it wasn't just a tree, it was their tree. They had decorated it together, and they were going to celebrate Christmas together.

Next to him, Chell was feeling a little emotional too.

The fact that she got to celebrate something like Christmas reminded her of her freedom, and the value of it. Of her home, her friends, and family. How far she had come since moving to Horizon. Every Christmas seemed to be a kind of milestone, and this one was extra special, because it was Wheatley's first.

So Chell didn't understand why, all of a sudden, he looked unhappy.

"What's wrong?"

Wheatley scuffed at the carpet.

"Nothing's really wrong, it's just that I don't-" He winced, looking up at her cautiously. "All of it just seems a little… silly… To me?" He gestured wildly as Chell frowned. "Not that anything that makes you this happy could ever be silly, because- I can tell, you know, that you've been quite a lot happier, lately. Not that you're usually unhappy or unpleasant to be around! You're not! I just-" Blue eyes looked helplessly at the Christmas tree. "I don't understand… all of this. Does that make any sense? I mean, I know you don't really like it, or at least it's not your favorite thing, when I go on one of those, gee-you-humans-sure-are-strange tangents, but really," Wheatley smirked halfheartedly, giving her a pointed look. "I spent most of the morning watching you and that Michael fellow try to squeeze a tree through the front door."

"Yes." Chell smirked. "With all the time you, Jake, and Ruth spent laughing at us when you could have helped."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Chell rolled her eyes, immediately knowing where he'd picked up that phrase.

Wheatley smiled at her, reluctant.

"You... usually don't do things unless they're practical."

Chell nodded.

"Yes."

"Right. So what is the functional purpose of having a tree in the living room?"

Chell smirked.

"There isn't one."

"Then why-" He scoffed. "What's the point?"

Chell shrugged.

"What's the point of anything?"

Wheatley blinked.

"I'm sorry, was that suppose to make me less confused?"

'Where's the fun in that?'

Chell snickered.

"Come here." She slid off the couch, and pulled Wheatley down with her. They sat side by side on the carpet, in front of the tote that had previously held the Christmas lights. Wheatley watched in mild confusion as Chell began to rummage through the box. "This is the best way I can explain what Christmas is about."

Chell removed several clumps of paper from the tote that sat in front of them, carefully peeling back their wrappings to reveal candy colored glass. She hooked a twine string on her finger, and the two of them watched as the bulb dangled there, spinning in lazy pirouettes.

"Colored glass?" Wheatley tried.

"It's an ornament." Chell said softly, holding it up for him to see. "Isn't it pretty?" He was obviously supposed to be looking at the ornament, but it was hard to focus when she was so close, the lights from the tree reflecting in her eyes like multicolored stars. "Part of the Christmas tradition is decorating the Christmas tree with them, like this." Chell removed the string from her finger and instead secured it on one of the branches of the tree. She smiled, her voice turning warmer as she looked at the unveiled ornaments that sat at her feet. "But these ornaments are special, because every one of them was given to me during my first Christmas here in Horizon."

Her gaze turned melancholy, almost bitterly so, as she looked up at him.

"You were lucky. You had me- someone you knew- who brought you to town, and took care of you, and gave you a place to live. When I got here I had nowhere to go, and I was constantly surrounded by total strangers."

Wheatley swallowed.

"That doesn't sound fun."

"It wasn't." Chell said. "They were nice, though. Despite the fact that I wasn't always so nice to them." She shook her head as she looked up at the ceiling. "They helped me fix up this little old house, and by Christmas I was living in it. It was a lot… emptier back then. I hardly had any furniture, much less little things like Christmas decorations." Her smile softened as she looked back at Wheatley. "I didn't even know what Christmas was. I didn't understand it."

He smiled weakly. "It doesn't make too much sense."

Chell nodded.

"Back then I saw it the way you do now." She smirked softly as she unwrapped another ornament. "People were stuffing trees into their houses, and pelting each other with snow, and filling socks with candy. I thought they'd all lost their minds."

Chell chuckled.

"After a few unsuccessful attempts at explaining the holiday to me, one of them took me door to door- against my will- and explained to each resident that my house was completely empty save for a couch and a bare tree. And when they heard that, every single one of them took an ornament off their own tree, and gave it to me." She smiled at Wheatley. "By the end of the night the tree was full. And I finally understood." Chell looked at the ornament cradled in her hands. "Christmas means different things to different people; to me it's about the spirit of giving. Which wasn't too hard to learn around here." Her smiled turned softer as blue eyes met grey. "I know I seem very independent, and I try to be independent whenever I can. But everything I have was given to me by them. I owe everything to them."

They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the light of the tree as the radio crooned from the kitchen.

"It was Michael, wasn't it?" Wheatley asked.

"Hm?"

"The person who took you around town."

Chell tried not to smirk.

"Maybe."

Wheatley made a noise that was somewhere between a hum and a growl.

"That was very...decent of him." Chell tried not to snicker as he mussed the carpet. "What about... everything else?"

"They took care of that too."

'They.'

They really had given her everything.

"Thank you. For explaining." Wheatley gave a lopsided smile. "I think I get it now."

"It's no trouble at all." Her eyes sparkled as she came closer. "Here."

Wheatley blinked as she gave him the ornament she'd been holding.

"What's this?"

He had never known her to be shy, but something timid swept over her.

"Your first gift." She said softly. "I know it's a little early, and I didn't even wrap it- I honestly just thought of it." Blue glass winked up at watery blue eyes. "That one always made me think of you."

"Oh, love…" Wheatley smiled helplessly, overcome with emotion. "Thank you, but I can't- I can't just take this from you."

Chell shook her head.

"I want you to have it." Her smiled brightened as her fingers brushed his, preventing him from returning it. "Do you want to hang it on the tree?"

"Oh!" Wheatley beamed. "Of course! Do I just… uh?" He copied Chell's previous actions, carefully hooking the ornament's string around one of the tree branches. "Like this?"

They sat back and admired their work, orange and blue side by side.

"Perfect."

This is the second half of last years 'Ornaments' chapter, requested by one of my irl friends.

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you've enjoyed this years chapters, and I hope to have more new writing for you soon. I sincerely apologize for the lack of new writing this past year. I'm trying. I promise.

Until next time, please read and review!